> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://blog.rnazar.nl/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # {Series} Home Lab - Part 2: Docker, Dockage, and Your First Service - URL: https://blog.rnazar.nl/series-home-lab-part-2-docker-dockage-and-your-first-service/ - Published: 2026-09-05T17:14:52.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-11T06:47:58.000Z - Description: Deploy Docker, set up Dockage for clean stack management, and spin up your first local Ghost blog on your Debian home lab server. - Author: Riju Nazar - Tags: Technology, Homelab, Self hosting > **Series:** Home Lab on an Intel NUC > **Prev:** [Part 1: Securing SSH & Cockpit](https://blog.rnazar.nl/series-home-lab-part-1-securing-ssh-cockpit/) In Part 1, we locked down our Debian server with certificate-only SSH access, set up Cockpit for web-based monitoring, and configured Telegram alerts. Now comes the fun part: running services. Instead of installing applications directly onto the host operating system—which can cause dependency conflicts and clutter—we will use **Docker** to containerize everything. To make managing containers easier without relying solely on the command line, we will also install **Dockage** as a lightweight local dashboard, followed by our first real service: a self-hosted **Ghost** blog running completely locally. ## Step 1: Install Docker and Docker Compose Docker allows us to run isolated applications inside lightweight containers. Let's install the official Docker engine and Docker Compose plugin on Debian. ### 1.1 Add Docker's Official GPG Key and Repository First, update your package index and install required prerequisites: ``` apt update apt install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg ``` Create the directory for the keyring and add Docker's official GPG key: ``` install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/debian/gpg | gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg ``` Set up the stable Docker repository: ``` echo \ "deb [arch=\"$(dpkg --print-architecture)\" signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/debian \ \"$(. debian/release; echo \"$VERSION_CODENAME\")\" stable" | \ tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null ``` ### 1.2 Install Docker Engine and Compose Update your package list again to recognize the new repository, then install Docker and the Compose plugin: ``` apt update apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin ``` Verify that Docker is running correctly: ``` systemctl status docker ``` ## Step 2: Install Dockage for Visual Stack Management Managing multiple Docker Compose files via terminal can become tedious. **Dockage** is a lightweight, clean web-based dashboard designed specifically to manage Docker stacks, images, containers, and volumes easily. ### 2.1 Set Up a Home Lab Directory Structure Let's organize our projects cleanly on the server. We will create a central home lab directory: ``` mkdir -p /opt/homelab/dockage cd /opt/homelab/dockage ``` ### 2.2 Create the Dockage Compose File Create a `docker-compose.yml` file for Dockage: ``` nano docker-compose.yml ``` Paste the following configuration: ``` version: "3.8" services: dockage: image: dockage/dockage:latest container_name: dockage restart: unless-stopped ports: - "7000:7000" volumes: - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock - dockage_data:/app/data volumes: dockage_data: ``` ### 2.3 Launch Dockage Spin up the stack in detached mode: ``` docker compose up -d ``` Open your browser and navigate to your NUC's IP address on port `7000`: ``` http://:7000 ``` You will see the Dockage dashboard, giving you instant visibility over your running containers, volumes, and system resources. ## Step 3: Deploy Your First Service — Local Ghost Blog Now that our environment is ready, let's deploy our first real application: a self-hosted **Ghost** blog instance. For now, we will keep it running locally so we can test and write privately before exposing it to the world in later parts of the series. ### 3.1 Create a Ghost Directory Navigate to your lab directory and create a folder for Ghost: ``` mkdir -p /opt/homelab/ghost cd /opt/homelab/ghost ``` ### 3.2 Create the Ghost Compose File Create your `docker-compose.yml` file: ``` nano docker-compose.yml ``` Paste the following configuration, which pairs Ghost with a lightweight SQLite backend for easy local self-hosting: ``` version: "3.8" services: ghost: image: ghost:latest container_name: ghost-blog restart: unless-stopped ports: - "2368:2368" environment: # Set your local development or staging URL - url=http://:2368 - database__client=sqlite3 - database__connection__filename=/var/lib/ghost/content/data/ghost.db volumes: - ghost_content:/var/lib/ghost/content volumes: ghost_content: ``` *(Make sure to replace `` with your actual NUC local IP address).* ### 3.3 Start the Ghost Container Launch your new blog stack: ``` docker compose up -d ``` Once running, open your browser and visit: ``` http://:2368 ``` To access the admin dashboard to start writing, go to: ``` http://:2368/ghost/ ``` ## Summary You have successfully transformed your secure Debian server into a dynamic application host: - Installed **Docker and Docker Compose** for clean containerization - Deployed **Dockage** at port `7000` for visual stack management - Launched your first self-hosted **Ghost blog** at port `2368` **Next up →** [Part 3: Pi-hole and Internal Reverse Proxy](https://blog.rnazar.nl/series-home-lab-part-3-pi-hole-caddy-local-dns/)